We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. The Citizen reports council leader Peter Marland saying: The council received a whistleblowing allegation regarding spending on our housing repairs contract. Social housing specialist Mears Group PLC has been handed contracts worth 1bn from the UK government - a sizeable deal for a company with market capitalisation of less than 400mln. . Ruth and I then separately rang the national number demand was low at 1.30 am on Christmas morning, and we got through. Most shocking of all: in 2017 Mears tried to ban beards. Notably, Orchard & Shipman were sub-contracted by Serco to run much of their asylum housing contract in Scotland between 2012 and 2016. 1999-2018 F5 Networks. You have accepted additional cookies. This was another HMO with damage and dirt throughout; the kitchen in particular was a health hazard for the tenants. Outside the properties there were piles of rubbish near the street entrance. However, Mitie Property Management has been one of the worst performing parts of Mities business, which the company has been looking to get rid of for some time (click here to read more in our 2018 Mitie company profile). 2020, when 7 Scottish MPs cited "no confidence" in the "evaluation" into the impact of Covid-19 on asylum-seekers, with the group walking out of a meeting with government officials, and supporting calls for a full independent inquiry . He told the Independent, I had hoped for a huge improvement in services for refugees, but its clear the system is failing due to lack of capacity. Press Enquiries. We deliver a range of property services, including delivering reactive repairs, planned and cyclical maintenance services to over 100 local authorities and housing . Safe and Innovative Infrastructure Solutions. If it is out of hours (after 5.30pm or any time at a weekend) and you have nowhere to sleep please contact: 0191 278 7878 (Ask for the 'Emergency Homeless Officer'). We have a great opportunity for an experienced Gas Engineer to join out growing Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract team on a full-time permanent basis covering the Yorkshire area. c/o BASE Community Co-operative Cllr Wood said Sheffield, too, was prioritising inspections of asylum houses and concentrating resources there. Call Now To Reserve: 855-463-2776. . The roles of national and local governmentSupport for Asylum SeekersSupport after a decision on your asylum claimSupport for Refugees The company says it is still trying to grow its home care business but only with contracts that can provide clear and sustainable margins (in other words turn a profit). Barnsley Council served an enforcement order on the two properties they had licensed as HMOs, demanding action on cleaning and repairs and giving Mears a time limit. The group, formed of housing, community, human rights and legal organisations, wants the Home Office and contractor Mears to improve living conditions. Recently, people have been dispersed to some totally unsuitable Mears houses. A council investigation found that it had been overcharged by over 500,000 for some 1,000 plastering jobs. In fact, he hasnt made anything like his possible top bonus in the last four years. Mears shares some of the characteristics the analysis pointed to as potential problems. They move us regularly. Mears Group PLC 1390 Montpellier Court Gloucester Business Park Brockworth Gloucester GL3 4AH. Mears strategy involves networking across the blurring boundaries of high finance and charitable housing provision. A private "social housing" business, Mears Group, is about to become one of the UK's biggest refugee landlords, winning three ten year asylum accommodation contracts from the Home Office worth a total 1.15 billion. I am a Mears tenant in Newham, London. When I got through, they said they thought I was homeless and not in the hotel. Privacy is important to us, so you have the option of disabling certain types of storage that may not be necessary for the basic functioning of the website. I dont know how families with children can exist. Many of these are Terraquests customers. But there is no evidence of any illegal wrongdoing. They said they would do something. Next door I was welcomed by two asylum seeking men on their way out, who encouraged me to look around and take pictures. If you have a question, or a problem, we want to hear from you. About Us. i So-called net debt, which financial analysts calculate by subtracting a companys cash and other easy-to-sell (liquid) assets from the total value of the debts it owes to banks, lenders, suppliers and other third parties. They dont make decisions on asylum applications. Phone Number: 1-989-433-2929: Mears Group, Inc. industries Building: Headquarters Location: 5051 Westheimer Rd, Houston, Texas . With over 20 operating locations across the United States, our dedicated personnel, readily deployable resources and North America's largest fleet of specialized construction equipment are everywhere you need us. We look forward to hearing from you.Find contact details for care, repairs or management queries on our list of local branches. None of these issues have stopped Clearsprings making good money from asylum housing. MEA House Find out about call charges. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Report anti-social behaviour. While it has enjoyed recent success winning big contracts, things havent been going so well for Mears in the deals it already has. In January 2015, North Lanarkshires Labour council hit a crisis, as one Labour councillor named Tommy Morgan was sacked from his role as chair of the audit and governance panel. Its biggest acquisition yet was announced in November 2018. As part of the Mears Group we offer partnership solutions and expertise in estate management and property maintenance. Annual salary: up to 32,500.00<br><br>Mears Housing Management are now looking to appoint a Welfare Operations Manager This is a Full Tim - 9 month fixed term contract, offering a Salary up to 32,500 + car + benefits Supporting key clients this is a hybrid role with 50% travel across the whole of Yorkshire & Humberside. Grandview, MO Finally, Mears has also started to develop and build houses itself, particularly as part of regeneration schemes. You cant just put them in the house and say get on with it like an average council tenant., Hundreds of asylum seekers in hotels in West Yorkshire. Mears Group, which is being paid by the Home Office to tend to asylum seekers, denied the claims. For example, subsidiary vehicle that could deliver funding over 30. Presumably his experience will have helped with Mears bid for the new contract. Residents in the asylum housing Mears provide have no tenants' rights, and regularly report damp, ill-repair, rat . We will try to sort things out quickly and informally, but if you wish to log your issue as a formal complaint, we will investigate it accordingly. Asylum accommodation and support services; News News. However, a potential worry for Mears is that its business model depends on winning new maintenance or care contracts every year. Mears business is above all about partnership, making joint ventures and contracts with other developers especially government bodies, councils, and housing associations. They are listed as non profit but are companies limited by guarantee rather than charities. I spent two months in another hotel and they only cleaned my room two or three times. Mears Transportation Group hires qualified candidates for a number of positions. But for Mears, this will mean taking one of its main competitors out of the game. The Milton Keynes deal is not the first time Mears has had to deal with overcharging allegations, or with whistleblowers. Mears also sees the overlap between its housing and care businesses as a good selling point looking to capitalise on an ageing population. The crisis in the Mears contract in South Yorkshire and the North East has meant that there is very little housing for asylum seekers to go to from Urban House, and so many are being accommodated in hotels across West Yorkshire and Humberside. Mears contact info: Phone number: +44 8706071400 Website: www.mearsgroup.co.uk What does Mears do? . But it is far from certain the company can be trusted to provide decent homes for refugees. Since September, there have been continual massive delays in the passing on of tenants requests for repairs from Migrant Help to Mears, which Migrant Help puts down to teething problems and high demand. Mears Group. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm During the Mobilisation period, up to 1st April 2019, Mears will work with the Home Office and service users to make sure that accommodation that is used in the new AASC contract meets the required quality standard. That puts Mears value on a par with companies such as lorry firm Eddie Stobart and Hotel Chocolat. In the four South Yorkshire council areas there are around 2,000 asylum seekers in asylum housing, with Sheffield having around 900. The AASC contracts, which will replace the existing COMPASS contracts, have an approximate value of 4 billion and are for 10 years. Mears current Chief Operating Officer, John Taylor, was previously boss of scandal-hit housing company Orchard & Shipman when that company won the bid to run much of the previous Scottish asylum housing contract under Serco. Over 40% of Mears care workers left the company last year. Tel: 0191 245 7301www.refugee.org.uk, West End Refugee Service (WERS) In circumstances such as these, their food is provided and they lose their 5.30 daily, which means they often cannot top up their phones to contact lawyers and family, or buy fresh . In Scotland, Mears has a major contract with North Lanarskhire Council, worth an estimated 445 million over ten years, to maintain the councils 36,500 council homes, as well as schools and public buildings. It has been like that for at least two months.. Still, his 443,000 was more than 20 times the average Mears employees salary of 21,684. Newham council have done little to remedy this & we continue to campaign. We will push for the Mears contract to be terminated by the Home Office. Email:feedback.mearsliving@mearsgroup.co.uk. Mears other big government tender was less successful. It alleged Holt who cut his business teeth working for notorious Tory donor Lord Ashcroft had continually failed to challenge the status quo of deteriorating results, a stagnant share price and faded shareholder value. 41.9 million (2016) Number of employees. Like those companies, Mears is operating in low margin businesses, facing competition for contracts that, for the most part, do not allow for significant amounts of profit to be made. As many authorities closed or sold off their DLO maintenance departments, the winners were contractors like Mears. Migrant Help is a national service, funded by UKVI, providing free, independent advice and guidance to asylum seekers to help make claims for support and give general advice about the asylum process. Do you have information about Mears youd like to share with us? Read more about our complaints process, here. We will discuss this point further below. If you have refugee or humanitarian protection you may be able to apply to have your partner and/or child(ren) join you.